Answer:

TQM includes four main phases, known as The PDCA Cycle, for plan, do, check and act. The “planning” stage is when employees determine the root cause of various problems and quality management issues that need to be addressed throughout the organization. Strategies to address the determined problems discovered in the planning stage are developed during the “doing” stage. Ideas are analyzed and measured to determine how effective they are at helping solve the employees’ problems.

During the “checking” phase, organizations establish effectiveness by comparing data taken before and after to see how well projects performed and if quality improved. These results are then documented during the “acting” phase, during which time employees gear up to tackle another organizational issue they are facing.

TQM principles

There are eight defining principles of TQM to help guide your organization toward better customer service. According to the American Society for Quality (ASQ) the eight principles of TQM are:

Customer-focus: With TQM, everything comes down to customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction determines the success of your company’s TQM project or strategy. If customers are happy, your improvements worked. If they’re dissatisfied, it’s time to reevaluate your strategy.

Total employee involvement: Every employee is involved in working towards the common goal of continuous improvement. TQM isn’t focused on a specific department or business unit, it’s something that requires buy-in across the entire organization.

Process-centric: TQM requires process thinking, and strategies should be developed based off feedback from internal or external customers.

Integrated system: A strong TQM strategy looks at how micro-processes across the organization build up to larger processes and ensures those processes align with the company’s overall goals.

Strategic and systematic approach: To foster an environment that is continuously focused on process improvement, your TQM strategy must be fine-tuned and focused on the organization’s vision, mission and goals.

Continual improvement: The biggest attribute of TQM is the idea of “continual improvement.” Your organization should never consider a process finished or completed because new business problems and technologies are constantly being introduced.

Fact-based decision-making: Use data and analytics to guide your TQM strategy and to ensure it’s working for your organization.

Communication: Because TQM requires a large amount of change management, strong communication across the organization is key if you want your TQM strategy to succeed.